Chapter 9: Keep Your Friends Close
'Looks like the honeymoon is still in full swing for the two hosts of the core, but for one of the hosts, the honeymoon maybe over before it can truly begin!'
Previously
After showing the thai around the castle for a majority of the evening, the tour ended at Darcy's bedroom as two hosts settled into the balcony area outside of the bedroom under the setting sun. The night air provided a slight wind that blew the hosts' hair gently as they laid together. Darcy comfortably dozed off with her arms cupped around Anne's waist on the charcoal-colored loveseat. The thai closed her eyes and pretended to sleep alongside Darcy, but were waiting for the girl to fall asleep so she could tour certain areas of the castle alone without the careful eyes of a chaperone.
Carefully adjusting her body to look back at Darcy who was hugged up on Anne's back, Anne noticed a stream of drool were forming in the right corner of the girl's mouth that indicated that Darcy was in a deep sleep. Smirking and carefully slipping out of Darcy's arms, Anne quietly, but quickly exited the bedroom, making sure her exit was a quiet one so not to wake the sleeping hivemind. Making her way back to the resurrection room that were two rooms over from the bedroom, particularly back to the small closet that contained the music box and key to the instrument, Anne's eyes briefly shined muted orange and red as the door slid open to reveal the music box and key in their shiniest of gold coated glory. A cynical grin growing on the thai's face, Anne carefully plucked the key off of the hook while examining it closely.
"Well, hello there beautiful." Anne evilly smirked as she continued looking over the key. "We're reunited at last."
"Is this heaven now? Am I dreamin' out?
Is this heaven now? Am I dreamin'?
You're my one, one, one in a million,
And I can't believe that we're both alive at the same time,
You're my one, one, one in a million,
And I can't believe that we're both alive at the same time!"
In the dark regions of the castle's basement, the cell that contained the blonde warrior was suddenly illuminated by a boom shroom alongside Sasha's face. While Anne confiscated the majority of the explosives, Sasha ensured that she was not completely defenseless in her situation. Slightly smiling at the pint-sized weapon as it glowed with promise, a determined smile grew on the blonde's face as she kept her eyes glued to the illuminating explosive.
"This shroom is going to go boom very soon!" Sasha stated to herself as she kept her eyes on the mini explosive in her right hand…..
Currently
"So she actually came back?!" Marcy's mother, Sharon, excitedly questioned to the thai elder as Oum sipped her tea. "What was it like seeing her? Did she grow taller? Is her hair still a curly mess?"
The right corner of Oum's mouth curled into a smile as she processed the questions the other woman was throwing at her.
"No, Anne was the same ol Anne and I was very shocked to see her when she arrived on the doorstep." Oum answered with a slight laugh as Sharon hung onto every word the elder thai spoke. "My husband and I cried when we saw her, but that quickly faded when we met Anne's amphibian family."
"Amphibian family?" Sharon inquired with a cocked eyebrow.
"It's a very long story, but lets just say they were very interesting." Oum stated as she quickly sipped her tea along with Sharon. "Especially the pink frog. Sprig was his name. They were here for a bit and watching how Anne looked after them and took care of them like they were her own really showed how mature she had become. Something I thought I'd never live to see."
Sharon chuckled a bit while sipping her tea.
"That's great to hear." Sharon replied as she tightly gripped the ceramic mug in her hands while lowering her vision to the table, a concerned look etching across her features.
"I wish I could say the same about Marcy." Sharon added, finally setting the cup on the table in front of her. "When Michael announced his job change to Connecticut, I didn't imagine never seeing my daughter again. That day she ran out of the house, something told me to go after her, but Michael stopped me. He was sure she'd come back, but hey, even he was wrong despite being the most intelligent engineer at his tech company. I should have gone after her and maybe I could be as happy as you are that you got to see your daughter again. Unlike Carmen and Ashton, we actually care about our children! I swear those two are so selfish, it's sickening!"
Sipping her tea once more, Oum nodded, silently agreeing that Sasha's parents were indeed self-serving and greedy which fueled Sasha's troubled behaviors that Anne often got entangled in. Oum could not count on one hand how many calls she received from not just the school, but from Carmen complaining of how Anne has manipulated Sasha when the truth was reversed. While Anne was easily influenced by Sasha and Marcy, Oum knew what her daughter was capable of and what behaviors she exhibited, which were nothing like Carmen complained of.
"When I tried to call Carmen to speak about Sasha, the way she rushed me off the phone told me she could not be bothered to speak about her own child!" Sharon spoke in an outrage. "Her OWN daughter who's also missing and you can't speak one word about her to another concerned parent?!"
Oum shook her head, knowing just how Carmen and Ashton were to other parents who tried to communicate with them, herself included.
"The Waybrights are indeed an interesting pair." Oum civilly agreed with a slight nod. "Carmen has a very interesting way of describing our daughters' friendship. (เจ้าเด็กจมูกน้ำมูกตัวน้อยไม่มีอนาคต).
Sharon nodded as well as she tried to control the tears that threatened to fall.
"I just wish I could hear her and even hug her." Sharon continued as she lightly wiped her eyes. "I know how she felt that night when the announcement came, but I wish I could have been able to do more so she'd still be with us, with me. If I could do anything to change that, I would. I was not very happy about Michael's change of jobs out of state no more than Marcy was, despite the change being a better opportunity. I just wish things were different and that there was a way to bring her home!"
Taking another sip of her tea, Oum's right eyebrow raised just slightly at hearing the Taiwanese woman's wish, knowing of a possible way for Sharon to see or even visit with Marcy. Just as Oum opened to her mouth to continue the conversation, Bee entered the kitchen and walked to the fridge, grabbing both women's attention.
"Don't mind me ladies." Bee stated as he opened the fridge and grabbed a soda. "Just taking a bit of a gaming break."
"Oh honey, I need to speak with you for a second." Oum requested as she released her cup. "Please excuse me Sharon, for a moment."
Sharon nodded as Oum stood up and approached Bee.
"เราควรบอกชารอนว่าเราส่งแอนน์กลับไปที่แอมฟิเบียได้อย่างไร." (We should tell Sharon about how we sent Anne back to Amphibia.) Oum suggested to Bee in their language as his eyes widened. "บางทีเราอาจเรียก..." (Maybe we can call...)
"ที่รัก แม้ว่าฉันจะอยากช่วยชารอน เราก็ตกลงที่จะเก็บเรื่องนั้นไว้เป็นความลับ!" (Honey as much as I want to help Sharon, we agreed to keep that as a secret!) Bee replied as calmly as he could so not to startle Sharon. "สถานการณ์ซับซ้อนกว่าที่เราคิดมาก ฉันไม่อยากให้เธอผ่านเรื่องนั้น!" (The situation is far more complicated than we thought. I don't want to put her through that!)
"แต่เธอก็อกหักมากเหมือนตอนที่แอนหายตัวไป." (But she's heartbroken much like I was when Anne disappeared.) Oum pressed as she clasped her hands together in front of her. "เนื่องจากเรามีวิธีที่จะช่วยเธอได้ ฉันจึงบอกว่าเราโทรหามิสเตอร์เอ็กซ์และเทอร์รี่ เราแค่ต้องอธิบายเรื่องนี้ให้ดีที่สุดที่เรารู้." (Since we have a way to help her, I say we call Mr. X and Terri. We'll just have to explain this the best way we know how).
Unsure of how to continue the conversation with Oum, Bee looked around Oum slightly to Sharon, seeing how the woman was holding up as she sipped her tea.
"เราจะพูดคุยเรื่องนี้กันในภายหลังและตัดสินใจได้."(We can discuss this more a bit later and make a decision then.) Bee stated as he looked back to his wife. "ฉันไม่ต้องการที่จะพูดมากเกินไปเกี่ยวกับเรื่องนี้ต่อหน้าเธอและอาจทำให้เธอกลัวได้." (I don't want to say too much about it in front of her and possibly scare her).
"คุณไม่ต้องกังวลกับการทำให้ฉันกลัว แต่ฉันสนใจที่จะเรียนรู้ว่า Mr. X เป็นใครมากกว่า และเขาจะช่วยฉันได้อย่างไร." (You don't have to worry about scaring me, but I am more interested in learning who Mr. X is and how he can help me get Marcy back.)
A sudden silence fell over the room as Bee and Oum turned to Sharon who were eyeing the pair over her glasses just slightly.
"Marcy got me into the rom-coms." Sharon non-chalantly stated. "So who is Mr. X and Terri exactly?"
Newtopian Castle (Throne Room)
A frustrated sigh revibrated through the silent throne room as another scroll messily rolled onto the floor atop the pile next to the right arm rest of the throne. Scratching her left cheek lightly while being careful not to leave bruises from her manicured nails, Anne's eyes briefly shined a bright muted orange and red as she unrolled the next scroll and began scanning the tattered parchment with annoyed eyes. With a frown etching its way into the right corner of the thai's mouth, Anne's eyes scanned to the middle of the parchment as she released a sigh.
"And she couldn't read these herself?!" Anne griped with irritation as she continued reading the scroll. "No wonder the core was formed into a collective as reading these are practically putting me to sleep!"
Finishing reading through the scroll in her hands, Anne rolled it up and tossed it to her right, into the pile of scrolls on the floor.
"S̄eīy welā cring«!" Anne spat in her native tongue as her eyes shined their muted orange and red.
Placing her left heeled foot onto the ground, the thai stood up to stretch when the sound of shattered glass her caught her attention. Looking ahead of her, Anne caught sight of Andrias, who stood frozen as if he saw a ghost, the broken remains of his number one monarch mug in pieces in front of him along with what tea remained in the mug. Anne cocked an eyebrow as Andrias's mouth fell open at the sight of her.
"Can I help you?" Anne barked in annoyance as she placed her hands on her hips defensively.
"Not…not…you." Andrias stammered as he fell to one knee, the shockwave of his weight rippled throughout the room. Anne quickly grabbed onto the right arm of the throne to steady herself. "I thought it was just Marcy, but you…?"
"Complete sentences please!" Anne demanded as she straightened herself up and walked down the stairs to stop a mile from the giant salamander.
"Anne, how did this happen to you?" Andrias inquired, his voice breaking and sounding as if he were on the brink of tears. "One of Amphibia's greatest warriors has fallen! I…I just can't believe it!"
Seeing the giant in such a vulnerable state, Anne's eyes softened and briefly changed to their chocolate brown color before changing back as she kept her eyes on Andrias.
"It was not my first choice let me tell you, but I had to do what was best to save everyone on earth." Anne softly spoke to Andrias as she took a few steps closer to the giant. "Darcy really didn't give me much of a choice either."
The energy in the room suddenly changed as well as Andrias's demeanor, his breathing became heavier, almost shallow as he strongly inhaled a breath.
"Darcy…The core…My father!" Andrias growled as his voice deepened to dangerous levels. "That was not the plan when it was created! We needed a host for instructional and dominance purposes, but not….not this! There should have been another way to save earth without you being assimilated like Marcy!"
"Don't you think I tried?!" Anne's voice boomed, the voices of the core coming forth as well as the new host crossed her arms across her chest. "There were no other options but to do what I had to!"
Silence then fell over the room as Anne kept her eyes on Andrias while Andrias looked down in defeat.
"I should have destroyed that monster when I had the opportunity to!" Andrias growled as he looked to Anne with sorrowful eyes. "Then none of this would be happening right now."
Hearing Andrias state his prior plans to destroy the core pulled the thai in, hearing that her future plans were not too far from what was already thought of by the giant monarch.
"Andrias….I….I have something to tell you." Anne began as she took another step towards the giant salamander, her eyes briefly changing to her native chocolate brown. "About the core…."
"Andrias!" Darcy's voice screeched as Andrias and Anne turned to the entrance of the throne room, to the helmetless hivemind. "What are you doing in here with Anne!? Don't you see she's busy?! Don't you have other things you can be doing instead of bothering her!?"
"My lord." Andrias quickly spoke as he got to his feet, but quickly bowed to Darcy. "I did not know Anne was in here until…"
"Silence!" Darcy demanded as she waved her left hand at the giant, shutting him up instantly. "You are to keep watch on our army, not fraternize with a superior! Until you are needed, you are dismissed!"
With a deep sigh, Andrias nodded to Darcy in obedience. Slightly looking back to Anne, Andrias headed to the exit of the room to leave the two hosts to converse. As Andrias exited the throne room, Darcy's frown changed to a wide smile as she approached the thai with a scroll tucked under her right arm.
"I cannot tell you how long I've waited for this!" Darcy happily gleamed as she grabbed the parchment from under her arm and hugged the old tattered paper to her chest. "Or should I say WE have waited for this. Having a secondary host, my love, right alongside me, is my biggest dream come true."
"Well who said there only had to be on ruler?" Anne quickly quipped as her eyes briefly glowed a bright muted orange. "The more the merrier."
"Right you are love!" Darcy smiled to Anne as she opened the scroll in her hands. "Now down to business. Having already reviewed the ancient amphibian alphabet, aligning the scrolls to awaken the great soul of the core will be one heck of a challenge, but according to the prophecy, the one who possesses the purest of heart can awaken the great soul. You are considered Heart, which means that you and only you can awaken the great soul and command it to do our bidding!"
"Like taking power from every planet we conquer effortlessly!" Anne smugly spoke as an evil grin etched onto her features while opening her right palm to the ceiling as if she were reaching out.
"Don't you just love when an evil plan comes together?" Darcy fawned, but quickly regained her composure to continue her explanation. "Now, in order to summon the great soul, these instructions have to be followed to the letter as we cannot afford any mistakes."
Continuing to speak to Anne about the great soul, Darcy turned her back to the thai, missing the cynical smile that formed on the girl's face and the fireball that formed in the palm of her right hand.
"You're giving me that much more to work with, Darcy, to bury all of you!" Anne mentally stated as her eyes continued burning in the back of the raven-haired girl's head.
The King Neptune Suite
Having mentally completed part one of her ultimate plan, Anne showered, disrobed, and climbed in the bed for a night she can only describe as to herself. The candles were lit, Amphibia's moon was setting so beautifully on the horizon, and the night air was just the right temperature. Darcy would be walking the castle for hours, which gave the thai plenty of time to unwind her body and mind from a strenuous day.
Along with enhancing her plans to take over the core until she were able to enact her destruction, Anne's mind replayed where Darcy kept the music box and key, which were in the resurrection room hidden away in a conjoined room. If she could charm the depraved soul into letting her keep it permanently, she would have completed the second step needed to take over the core to destroy it at her leisure. A smile creeped onto the thai's face as she hugged against the fluffy pillow that she were laying on. Stretching out one last time, Anne felt her body relax as she began drifting into a deep sleep.
"In bed already?" Darcy's voice rang out as she entered the bedroom that, once belonged to Andrias, in her fluffy purple sweater. The hivemind flipped the foyer light switch on, illuminating the area she were standing. Anne opened her eyes and squinted as she sat up to face Darcy. The thai grunted in annoyance.
"Really Darcy?" Anne whined as she laid back down and placed the pillow over her head. "I told you I was tired when I left central command. Please turn the light out."
"Well I'm not and since we have the whole castle to ourselves tonight, I was thinking we can have a little fun." Darcy slyly suggested as she walked closer to the bed.
"Oh really? Fun like wh-?" Anne began, but stopped her thought as she eyed the chain of the music box key hanging from the left pocket of Darcy's robe. Anne then smiled as she sat up while wrapping herself in the covers. "What did you have in mind exactly?"
"Oh, anything I guess." Darcy flirted as she approached the bed and kneeled down. "I've been so impressed with your plans of how we are going to be rulers of the universe that I'm going to let you pick. Happy wife, happy life right?"
"Right." Anne replied in a flirty tone as she climbed to her knees and approached Darcy, who landed a kiss to Anne's lips. "I think I may have an idea."
"Good." Darcy whispered as she kissed the thai's lips once more. "Tonight, I submit to you, my lovely queen."
Anne planted another kiss to Darcy's lips as Darcy grabbed the edges of the covers to begin unwrapping her gift. Anne followed suit and began disrobing the hivemind while keeping her right hand very close to the pocket the key was in. Anne was mere seconds from grabbing it when she felt Darcy entangle her right hand in her hair, keeping her locked into the kiss that was quickly heating up.
Giving Darcy what she wanted, Anne quickly reached down, gripped the chain the key was on, and swiped the key from Darcy's robe. The thai then tossed the key back towards her night stand as the necklace landed under the furniture and out of sight.
"Got it!" Anne smiled as she de-escalated the kiss while still engaged.
"You certainly do!" Darcy continued as she pulled back slightly to take in the thai's image. Leaning back in to reignite the kiss, Darcy was mere inches from the thai when an explosion outside of the castle broke both hosts concentration! Andrias was heard shouting outside of the window below the balcony along with other familiar voices. Quickly wrapping herself up in the covers, Anne rushed to the balcony and what she saw caused her hair to flare a fiery red as rose throne stems emerged from her fiery hair.
"Unbelievable!" Anne shouted as her eyes shined an angry bright muted red and orange. Darcy quickly placed on her robe and rushed to the balcony alongside Anne. "How did he not keep them from escaping?!"
"Don't worry love, I'll handle it!" Darcy stated in a hurry.
"No, I'll handle it." Anne replied, her voice echoing those of the great minds she were possessed by. "It looks like I have to get my hands dirty!"
Stepping back into the room, the bedsheets the thai were wrapped in conformed to her body from head to toe, instantly changing her back into her core attire, her crown included. As her fiery red curls continued flaring, Anne extended her right arm as the flaming scythe appeared in it.
"I'm going to enjoy this!" Anne smirked as she phased out of the bedroom while leaving sparks of flames in her wake.
Looking to the bed, Darcy sighed as she mourned the missing three thousand count Newtopian cotton top sheet she looked all over Newtopia for to match the current nautical bed sheet scheme.
"That sheet was so hard to find!" Darcy lightly whined. "Now I have to search for another set."
A/N: The commissions described in this chapter are: The ancient Scrolls, The Ultimate betrayal, and Steamy nights/Anne's Betrayal, which are featured on my DeviantArt page! Stay tuned as more art is coming soon!